Polish student arrested on suspicion of planning terror attack on Christmas market

A Polish university student has been arrested on suspicion of planning a bomb attack on a Christmas market in "support" of the Islamic State, a senior security official in Poland has said, Report informs referring to TVP World.

Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) detained Mateusz W., a 19-year-old student at the Catholic University of Lublin in eastern Poland, after he was found preparing explosives for a terrorist attack.

The suspect's full name has not been released owing to reporting restrictions.

"Previously, the man had been acquiring knowledge on how to independently produce materials that were intended to be used to carry out a terrorist act," Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the government minister overseeing Poland's intelligence and security services, wrote on X.

"He also planned to join a terrorist organization to obtain assistance in carrying out his intended activities. The purpose of the crime was to intimidate many people and support the Islamic State," the spokesman added.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Dobrzyński emphasized that this was another threat which Poland's ABW had detected and prevented before any tragedy could occur. He also said that there were "no traces of Russian connections" at the moment.

The arrest was carried out on November 30 following a search for the student in Poland's central-eastern Łódź and Lublin regions.

Dobrzyński wrote on X that ABW officers had seized data storage devices and items related to Islam. By court order, the man will spend the next three months in custody.